Numerous Black authors have watched as right-wing leaders ban their books from libraries and classrooms across the country, and in Texas, a state rep has launched an investigation targeting hundreds of titles. One book of the books on the list is Class Act by Jerry Craft. Craft sat down with us to discuss book banning, the impact of classroom censorship on his work, public school students, and the community as a whole. […]
Teach the Truth
TFN Statement on Gov. Abbott’s Hypocritical ‘Parental Bill of Rights’
Governor Greg Abbott is scheduled today to speak in the Rio Grande Valley about his proposed bill he titled “Parental Bill of Rights.” […]
TFN President Calls for Removal of Conspiracy Theorist From Key Texas Curriculum Panel
Texas Freedom Network President Val Benavidez today called for the State Board of Education to withdraw the appointment of a conspiracy theorist to a key panel advising the board on what millions of Texas children should learn in Texas public schools. […]
Is the SBOE Bringing the Circus to Town Again?
The Texas State Board of Education will rewrite state standards for history, government and other social studies courses this year. The last time this happened, in 2010, the whole process became — to put it bluntly — a circus. It embarrassed Texas before the eyes of the country and the world. That year, the board made hundreds of changes, often based not on facts but on personal political beliefs. The result is a set of standards that have been panned even by conservative think tanks as a “politicized distortion of history” that downplayed slavery as the cause of the Civil War, dismissed the separation of church and state, portrayed civil rights gains as having negative consequences, and much more. […]
Stop Using MLK to Whitewash our History
As we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, the words “I have a Dream” come to mind. But in 2022, with the current Texas political climate, it’s critical that we remember all of Dr. King’s teachings and that his “dream” included ending white supremacy by seeking systemic change. […]
